A note from the lead. Ines Alves ‘It was not before going to an African country that I truly realised what being ‘white’ means, and the impact that my skin colour can have on my identity.’
Reading Ines Alves thoughts on whiteness has again, as has happened so many times during my studies on the Inclusive Practices unit, led me to reflect on the experiences of students accessing the technical workshops. Whether a student is a national of a former British colony or just not from the UK, the experience of feeling different is a very real and uncomfortable one. How much more confusing and unfair is it then when you are British, you are in your home country and still you are made to feel othered? I am now reflecting on the idea of feeling like an outsider or traveller in your own country because of the colour of your skin. I am also reflecting on the duty of care we have to all our students. They are not tourists or travellers in a foreign country but students who have chosen to study with us and must rightly expect an exceptional learning experience that includes social justice at its core.
Is that a Sign: White Supremacy
I felt moved by this poem and thought its simplicity was memorable like good song lyrics. ‘I had so much hope when I was ‘accepted’ onto my course’ the past tense of ‘had’ is of course sad and ‘accepted’ or lack of acceptance has been emphasised. For me the poem is about the writer feeling like white supremacy is always surrounding and disadvantaging them, but is only noticed, by other white students, when a racist banner is put up in the college which is immediately removed. The banner is seen as unacceptable but the everyday racism the writer experiences goes unnoticed by the white students and staff at the college.
The writer (the poem is unsigned) never feels at home or accepted at the college she has joined. Not only does the writer have a limited experience but their isolation means that other students and staff never learn from her experiences. There is no sharing of ideas or exploring differences, no social justice education. Hahn Tapper
If students are accepted onto courses at UAL but are then confronted with excluding racist environments, we have totally failed to provide the environment they need to succeed and have also reinforced to them that they live in a racist unjust society.
Your interpretation of this piece brought back my memory of the time when I studied masters degree at UAL. “It doesn’t feel like home though” appears throughout the whole poem. The author highlighted the alienation she experienced during the two years study. I remember I was aware that my peers in the same masters course who had Asian background always stuck with each other. Now when I looked back and reflect, they were probably having not necessarily the same but similar experiences to the author shared here. I agreed with you that when you argued that it is a total failure for an education institution if a student from marginalized group who has been accepted in the courses still have to face the exclusion within the institution during her study, how could it be possible to succeed.
Your interpretation of this piece brought back my memory of the time when I studied masters degree at UAL. “It doesn’t feel like home though” appears throughout the whole poem. The author highlighted the alienation she experienced during the two years study. I remember I was aware that my peers in the same masters course who had Asian background always stuck with each other. Now when I looked back and reflect, they were probably having not necessarily the same but similar experiences to the author shared here. I agreed with you that when you argued that it is a total failure for an education institution if a student from marginalized group who has been accepted in the courses still have to face the exclusion within the institution during her study, how could it be possible to succeed.
Wow Michael, thank you kindly for your post. I really enjoyed reading it. It really resonated with me especially after my reflective report and my idea on the workshop I shared with you guys on our peer reviews. I really liked that you ask if it “is a sign of white supremacy”.
I feel that sometimes it is difficult to not feel cynical about it and even doubt what is reasonable to feel: In one way, I feel we are doing what we can; doing the PGcert, really thinking and feeling hard what can we do to go in a different direction. I read this and used to my report so let me share it with you: “Attention to WED can help progressive White
teachers and teacher educators understand that
our participation in WED (white education discourse) may be a barrier to
White teachers and teacher educators moving
toward TME/SAME. Simply recognizing the
pernicious ways that White Discourses often
function in White-dominated educational settings
is important;” My understanding that WED (White educational discourse) can be a barrier to move forward to
TME (Transformative
multicultural education)/SAME (Social action multicultural education) helps.
“However, recognition is only a first step; the very “ordinary
ness” of WED to White
teachers and students may make it seem
impossible to overcome without complete
rejection of familiar ways of being in the world.
And because WED may impact White teacher
educators as well as beginning teachers and their secondary students, we have as much
work to do as they do.” (“THINGS GET GLOSSED OVER”
REARTICULATING THE SILENCING POWER OF WHITENESS IN EDUCATION
Victoria S. Haviland).
In another way, I feel that there’s still so much we can do.
Thinking about our session of peer reviews and talking to each other expressing our doubts and aims really makes me feel courageous in talking about theses issues. I hope we can meet in person in September and carry on our discussions =). Have a great Summer.